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My Fruit Leather Recipe Is Like Natural, More Delicious Fruit Roll Ups
If you grew up in the 90s like I did (or maybe even if you didn’t?), you probably remember fruit roll ups that were everywhere. I haven’t had them in decades (artificial colors and so much sugar!), but when my kids started bringing them home from school, I knew it was time to create my own fruit leather as a better alternative. Here’s why this recipe has been all that and more:
- Fruity, chewy, and just a little sweet – The soft, chewy texture is just like I remember, maybe even better because it’s less dry. Mine is less sweet than store-bought versions, but you can adjust the sweetness, too.
- Choose your own fruit – I’ve tested this fruit leather recipe with many kinds of fruit, from berries to mangoes and more. Strawberry is my favorite, as it reminds me of the (processed) ones I enjoyed as a kid.
- 100% natural – No processed ingredients, corn syrup, pectin, juice, colors, or added sugar, just real fruit! My homemade fruit roll ups are also naturally gluten-free, can be low carb if you use berries, and I feel good giving them to my kids.
- Quick and easy – The prep takes only a few minutes, without a dehydrator or other special tools. Plus, I love that this recipe allows me to save fruit that’s about to go bad otherwise.
So if you need a natural snack for your family (or yourself), make this homemade fruit leather with me!
Ingredients & Variations
Here I explain the best ingredients for homemade fruit leather, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Fruit – I use strawberries most often. I’ve also used mango, other berries (blackberries, raspberries), stone fruits (such as peaches, plums, or apricots), or other fruit (like apples, pears, kiwi, or bananas). No matter what kind you use, you’ll need one pound for this recipe, which is about 2 to 3 cups of fruit.
- Lemon Juice – It brightens the flavor, but also has a surprise effect of helping the fruit retain its color. Lime juice works fine, too. You could use orange juice for extra sweetness, but I find it doesn’t work quite as well for color retention.
Variations:
- More Flavor – Sometimes I add spices (like cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, or ground ginger), or extracts (like vanilla or almond extract) to the puree. No specific amount — just taste as you add these.
- More Sweetness – My fruit leather recipe is sweetened with 100% fruit, but if your fruit isn’t as sweet as you like, you can add a few tablespoons of honey, or my personal favorite Besti natural sugar substitute (0 calories and no aftertaste!). I don’t recommend more than 2 tablespoons of liquid sweeteners, because more can prevent your fruit leather from drying out properly.
- Frozen Fruit – Simply defrost it fully in the fridge and drain off any extra liquid before pureeing.
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I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Puree the fruit. Just blend it in a high-power blender (I have this blender) or food processor, until very smooth. Add lemon juice and blend again.
- Pour onto a rimmed sheet pan. You can line it with either parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread the fruit puree into a thin layer.
- Bake in the oven. This takes a while, as you need a low temperature to remove excess moisture gradually. The fruit leather is ready when it’s no longer sticky, but let it cool completely to firm up. You can also use a dehydrator instead — see my tips below.
- Peel, cut, and roll. Gently peel the fruit leather off the baking sheet, cut into strips, and roll up. You can roll with or without the parchment paper (I have both options shown below), but doing it with the paper prevents the rolls from sticking to themselves.
My Recipe Tips
- Don’t add liquid to the blender. The fruit leather won’t set if you do, but sometimes this means the blender gets stuck, so I just dislodge with a spatula if needed.
- If the fruit has an edible peel, you can include it when blending. It’s extra fiber and texture!
- Parchment paper or a silicone mat works best for lining the pan. Avoid using wax paper, which is not suitable for the oven, or foil, which will stick.
- If using berries or other fruit with edible seeds, you can strain them through a fine mesh sieve. I usually skip the step, as I like the texture of the seeds, but feel free to strain if you prefer a smoother texture.
- Make sure the fruit puree is distributed evenly before baking. If the thickness of the puree is uneven, the fruit roll up recipe will have a lumpy texture, and the thinner parts may burn before the thicker parts are done. Try to create as thin a layer as possible without making any holes.
- Watch for doneness — baking time can vary. It depends on the type of fruit you use, how much water it has, how thinly you spread the puree, and even humidity. Thick layers can take a very long time to dry out, but over-dried fruit leather will be brittle and crack easily. Keep testing for doneness often after 3 hours.
- If you want to reduce the oven time, you can cook the fruit on the stovetop first. After pureeing, boil for 5-10 minutes to allow some liquid to evaporate. This step can cut your baking time roughly in half.
- Feel free to use a dehydrator if you have one. After pureeing, transfer to your dehydrator’s fruit leather tray (or simply line with parchment paper). Dehydrate for 6-12 hours at 140 degrees F. I usually start testing for doneness after 6 hours.
Fruit Leather (Easy Recipe)
By
This healthy fruit leather recipe is my homemade version of fruit rollups. It's so easy to make with real, fresh fruit and no added sugar!
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature possible (mine was 170 degrees F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat (this is a good size for this recipe).
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Puree the fruit in a high-speed blender, until very smooth. Add the lemon juice and puree again.
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Spread the smooth fruit puree onto the lined baking sheet.
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Dehydrate fruit leather in the oven for 3-4 hours, until the center is not sticky to the touch.
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Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheet.
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Slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet onto a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut into five strips lengthwise, then cut across all of them crosswise, to make 10 pieces total.
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To make fruit roll ups, roll the individual strips, preferably together with the parchment paper to prevent sticking, but without is fine as well.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 fruit roll up (7 inches by 2 inches)
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get an even doneness and texture, how to adjust the flavor, a time-saving hack I discovered, and more.
- Store: Keep the fruit leather in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. It’s fine to take these snacks on-the-go for the day without refrigerating — I do it all the time!
- Freeze: For longer storage, these fruit rollups will last for up to 6-8 months in the freezer, although the color fades over time. Thaw overnight in the fridge before enjoying.
- Note on nutrition info: These numbers are based on using strawberries, and will vary depending on the type of fruit you use. If you’re watching sugar intake, I recommend using low carb fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
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I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Fruit Leather Recipe
74 Comments
Cathy
2Can you use Apricots? If so, should they be prepared any differently than all the other fruit mentioned?
Barbara
2I have an apricot tree and I always use the very ripe ones for fruit leather. Always turns out great
Tiana Browne
1Can I use frozen fruits or do you think they should be defrosted first?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1Hi Tiana, I covered this above. Yes, you can, and yes, you need to defrost them and drain any liquid before blending.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1Hi Cathy, I think you can, but haven’t tried those yet. Please let me know how they turn out if you do!
Eric Ehramjian
1Is 200 degrees too hot a setting for the oven? That is the lowest setting my stove offers for the oven. Will it affect the texture of the final product or will it just shorten the drying time? Should I be concerned with burning at this temperature?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Eric, I think that should work okay, and yes, the time would be shorter. I don’t think it will burn, but I would definitely check on it sooner and you might need to rotate the pan. Please let me know how it goes!
Heather J. Ryan
1Have you tried this recipe with thawed frozen fruit? I’m thinking to try mangoes.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1Hi Heather, Yes, you can use frozen fruit! Mangoes are a delicious option.
Kim
1I cooked my fruit leather to perfection and left it out and it all softened up again. Suggestions ??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1Hi Kim, I’m not completely sure what you are asking, as fruit leather is supposed to be soft. Do you mean it was so soft that it was wet? If so, it probably still needed to bake for longer.
Meghan
1I made this with just strawberries and I am pretty sure my son would eat all of this in one sitting if he could, haha! Trying a combination of flavors next – thank you for the recipe.
Zane
1I recently bought a dehydrator and tried this recipe! I used a mix of blueberries and strawberries and loved how it turned out!
Patricia
1Who knew it was so easy to make homemade fruit leather?! My kids absolutely loved it and I felt so domestic. 🙂
Efream
1Mine did not turn out. Does it matter the type of fruit used? Plus they have been in the oven for like 6 hours and still haven’t completely dried out. I have no idea what I did wrong, but I’ll try them again.
Wholesome Yum D
1Hi, What fruit did you use?
Connie Poole
1I’m looking at your fruit leather recipe but I don’t see what temp the oven should be
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Connie, You should set your oven to the lowest temperature possible (mine was 170 degrees F). You will find that info in step 1 on the recipe card.
HP
1Followed the instructions to the letter. Left with unusable trash–the parchment paper wouldn’t pull off the fruit leather before OR after cooling. The tiny piece I was able to try tasted good, though.
Wholesome Yum D
1HI, Sorry this recipe didn’t meet your expectations. If you try again I recommend using a silicone mat.
Heather
1Will canned fruit (ie peaches) work if it’s well drained??
Wholesome Yum D
1Hi Heather, Yes, I think that should work for you.
Ann
1Would this recipe work if using frozen fruit?
Wholesome Yum D
1Hi Ann, Yes, you have to defrost fruit fully in the fridge and drain off any extra liquid before pureeing.
Jill
1I tried to make these but it ended up burning. I want to try again..loved the idea of no added sugar..but not sure what happened.
Victoria
1How do you store?
Wholesome Yum D
1Hi Victoria, Keep the fruit roll-ups in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Dana
1What a great lunchbox treat for the kids! Now I don’t have to worry about all the extras that are in store bought, and we can make whatever variation sounds good at that time!
Gen
1What a fun idea! My niece loved these.
Jenna
1I loved fruit roll ups when I was a kid but I’ve never tried making them before. I definitely plan on giving this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing.
Toni
1This is so fun to make and eat!! My kids loved it! Thanks!
Jaimie L
1Hi there! I just made a batch of these with strawberries and had such a hard time not eating them all! However, I do have a question: I used parchment paper and noticed it immediately wrinkled, leaving too-thin spots which crackled. Any tips on keeping your parchment paper from wrinkling?
Cristie
1When I was a young cook, I used to think that wax paper was the same as parchment paper, and ruined several recipes. Lol. Be aware that they are very different!
Wholesome Yum D
1Hi Jaimie, Using parchment paper sheets may be a better option for you.
Cori
0Help. Things went horribly wrong. My edges were crispy and most of the inside never hardened. Also had black spots pop up everywhere. Was in the oven almost 5 hours. I just gave up. Super great flavor and my kid loved the crispy parts he was able to eat. Where did I maybe go wrong? Wanna get this one right for him! Thanks so much!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Cori, What temp was the oven set at?
Addison
1My kids loved this recipe.